Forty years ago last weekend marked the 45th anniversary of the Monterey International Pop Festival. The three-day event was historic for a number of reasons: it was the first rock festival of its kind, pre-dating Woodstock by two years. It was headlined by some big-name acts at the time including Simon & Garfunkel, the Mamas & the Papas, and The Byrds, but it was the lesser-known acts who became superstars that weekend.

It was a coming-out party for many of the underground San Francisco bands, such as the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and especially Janis Joplin.

It was the first time R&B legend Otis Redding played before a pre-dominantly white audience. It was also the first time a major American audience got to see The Who and the still-unknown Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Celebrate the 45th anniversary of this landmark concert in rock history with a two-hour radio special featuring interviews with the performers and, of course, the music: It’s Monterey at 45, this weekend on The Rock Station, Rock104.com!

Friday, June 22: 7:00 PM

Saturday, June 23: 10:00 AM & 4:00 PM

Sunday, June 24: 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM

Read more about the recording of the historic festival here and read about D.A. Pennebaker’s film, here.